From The Leader
A CONTROVERSIAL Travellers’ site in a Wrexham village faces a crunch decision this week.
A traveller-owned plot of land in Southsea, Wrexham, has been the subject of a planning wrangle over the last year.
Owner Andrew Cash bought the plot of land and submitted a planning application for a chalet last September.
The application was recommended for permission by planning officers, but was turned down by Wrexham Council’s planning committee.
Mr Cash then appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, with a decision to be made on Thursday.
“If they don’t grant it I’m back on the road, and I don’t want to go back out on the road,” Mr Cash said.
“I can’t read or write, but I want my family to have an education. I want to settle so my children can go to school.
“Wrexham Council said if I could find a site I could settle. I can’t think of a better site than this.
“I’ve done a lot of work with it, it’s cost a lot of money.
“It’s not going to be a Gypsy site with caravans coming and going . We just want to be local people.
“Once I’ve got this place done properly you won’t see any caravans. I don’t really want caravans anyway, I want chalets.”
“I was on the Wrexham Maelor site years ago and was made homeless after that. I spent years on the road, but I never got on with it because it wasn’t my home.”
But concerns have been raised over the amount of activity on the site, with walls and a chalet already built, and some caravans on site.
Brymbo Cllr Paul Rogers said: “There are concerns about the development because it is outside the settlement limit and it’s green barrier land.”
He said gravel had been put down and hedging cut back without permission, and there were worries about the poor visibility on the site entrance.
“Obviously Wrexham Council will be defending the planning committee decision to refuse permission,” he said.
Mr Cash is also appealing an enforcement notice to take up the hard surface he has put down on the site. The site is designated green belt land, but he is challenging that categorisation.
He says there was hard surface on the site when he bought it, which dates back as far as 12 years ago, along with a brick stable, electricity and water. The surface had simply become overgrown.
“I obviously want to do up the site. The site was an eyesore when I came here. My life savings have gone into it.”
Earlier this year the Planning Inspectorate Wales criticised Wrexham Council’s ill-fated local development plan, now being re-drawn, for not having enough provision for travellers.
A spokesman for Wrexham Council said: “All documents have been submitted and we now await the outcome of the appeal process.”
l A PLANNING application has been submitted to add three pitches to another Travellers site in Pentre Broughton.
The site on Long Lane, close to Mr Cash’s Southsea site, has an application to change from one caravan pitch to four.
The application says: “The number of caravans and traveller families has fluctuated over the years but it has an acknowledged lawful use for two caravans (one family).
The applicant is of the view that three, four or more families have occupied the site at different times and he would like to formalise the situation and meet the serious under-provision of local traveller sites.
“It is generally unkempt and the applicant wants to seriously improve its appearance.”
The application has yet to be considered.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.